Hieracium flagellare — whip hawkweed
Copyright: various copyright holders. To reuse an image, please click it to see who you will need to contact.
Facts
Whip hawkweed is introduced from Europe, mainly into the Northeast, where it is found in fields, roadsides and lawns. It has long, thick, hairy, leaf-bearing stolons.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), meadows and fields
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.
enlargeCharacteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Leaf type
- leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaf arrangement
- the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant (basal)
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
- Flower type in flower heads
- the flower head has ray flowers only, meaning all of the individual flowers of the flower head have a strap-shaped ray, which may or may not have teeth at the very tip of the ray
- Ray flower color
-
- orange
- pink to red
- yellow
- Tuft or plume on fruit
- at least a part of the plume is made up of fine bristles
- Spines on plant
- the plant has no spines
- Leaf blade length
- 20–130 mm
- Disk flower number
- 0
-
Flowers
- Bract cycle number
- there are two main cycles of bracts
- Bract outer side hair type
- the bracts are hairy on their outer surfaces, with hairs having glands (a swelling at the tip of the hair)
- Bract outer side hairs
- the bracts are hairy on their outer surfaces
- Disk flower color
- NA
- Disk flower lobe number
- NA
- Disk flower number
- 0
- Disk flower proportions
- NA
- Disk flower reproductive parts
- NA
- Disk flower shape
- NA
- Flower head number
-
- each flowering stem has four or more flower heads on it
- each flowering stem has only one to three flower heads on it
- Flower head outer flowers
- at the outer edge of the flower head, each flower has a single enlarged lobe or strap
- Flower head platform
- the base has no bristles or papery scales
- Flower head profile
- the disk is flat or nearly flat across the top
- Flower type in flower heads
- the flower head has ray flowers only, meaning all of the individual flowers of the flower head have a strap-shaped ray, which may or may not have teeth at the very tip of the ray
- Height of flower head base
- 9–13 mm
- Inflorescence shape
-
- the flower heads grow in clusters from the axils of the branches or leaves
- the inflorescence is not flat-topped but appears rounded, with some flower heads distinctly higher than others
- Ovary cross-section
- the ovary has five or more corners in cross-section
- Ovary hair type
- the ovary has no hairs on it
- Ovary hairs
- the ovary has no hairs on it
- Ovary profile
- in profile, the ovary is oblong (roughly rectangular but rounded at the ends)
- Ray flower color
-
- orange
- pink to red
- yellow
- Ray flower reproductive parts
- the ray flowers have both carpels and stamens
- Ray flowers
- more than 50
- Ray length
- 6–10 mm
- Reproductive system
- NA
-
Fruits or seeds
- Ovary length in developed fruit
- 1.2–2.2 mm
- Seed hair tuft color
-
- the pappus hairs are tan to dark brown
- the pappus hairs are white or off-white
- Seed hair tuft details
- the pappus hairs are hooked or barbed
- Seed hair tuft length
- 4.5–7 mm
- Seed tuft type
- the pappus is made of very fine hairs or bristles
- Tuft or plume on fruit
- at least a part of the plume is made up of fine bristles
-
Glands or sap
- Sap
- the sap is clear and watery
-
Growth form
- Growth form
- the plant has one or more free-standing stems
- Horizontal rooting stem
- there are stolons on some plants
- Plant lifespan
- the plant is perennial, it shows evidence of previous year's leaves, stems or stem bases
- Spines on plant
- the plant has no spines
- Underground organs
-
- the plant has a rhizome (a horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)
- there is a thickened taproot on the plant
-
Leaves
- Hairs on underside of leaf blade
- the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
- Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
- the upper side of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
- Leaf arrangement
- the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant (basal)
- Leaf blade base
-
- the leaf has a distinct petiole
- the leaf has no petiole
- Leaf blade base shape
- the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
- Leaf blade hairs
- the leaf blade has simple hairs with no glands, and not tangled or wooly
- Leaf blade length
- 20–130 mm
- Leaf blade shape
-
- the leaf blade is oblanceolate (lance-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)
- the leaf blade is spatulate (spoon-shaped; narrow near the base, then suddenly widening to a rounded tip)
- Leaf blade tip
-
- the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed)
- the tip of the leaf blade is rounded, with no point
- Leaf blade width
- 8–25 mm
- Leaf disposition
- the lower leaves are larger, toothier, and/or on longer stalks than the upper leaves
- Leaf spines
- there are no spines on the leaf edges
- Leaf type
- leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Specific leaf type
- the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
-
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Specific habitat
-
- man-made or disturbed habitats
- meadows or fields
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Leaves on stem
- the flowering stem has no leaves above the base
- Stem internode hair direction
- the hairs point mostly upwards to outwards
- Stem internode hair length
- At least 2 mm
- Stem internode hair type
- at least some of the hairs on the stem have glands
- Stem internode hairs
- the stem has hairs between the nodes
Wetland status
Not classified
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- present
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- present
- Rhode Island
- absent
- Vermont
- present
Conservation status
None
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
3. Hieracium flagellare Willd. E
whip hawkweed. Hieracium flagellare Willd. var. pilosius Lepage; Pilosella flagellaris (Willd.) P.D. Sell. & C. West • CT, MA, ME, NH, VT. Fields, roadsides, lawns. This plant is sometimes treated as the hybrid of Hieracium caespitosum and H. pilosella. Sell and West (1976) point out that it has larger capitula than either parent and it has a widespread distribution with little variation. These facts suggest it is better treated as an orthospecies.